Jayne Ann Krentz publishes under her married name (Jayne Ann Krentz), her given (maiden) name Jayne Castle, and and her pen name Amanda Quick. Her Krentz novels are in the murder mystery / thriller / romance genres with a contemporary setting – often the wine country north of San Francisco. Many of the lead characters…
Author: Penelope Gordon
Bay Area Dance Venues
A listing of Bay Area venues conducive to West Coast Swing, Blues, Bachata, Stepping, and/or Kizomba dancing. For snack, meal, and beverage assortments perfect for dance conventions, please visit Nutriate. Last updated 2026/04/03. Night Clubs and Restaurants Clubbing Tips Wear earplugs with sufficient noise reduction rating (NRR). NRR of 30 – 33 dB for foam…
Bay Area HMC Events
Bay Area HMC Events This post is intended to collaborate on ideas for various types of HMC community events to be held in the Bay Area. Please add your ideas in comments at the bottom of the page. Thanks! – Penelope Gordon, ’87, pegordon@1plug.com, Moderator Food Related ‘Beyond Mudd πs’: a series of food related…
Northern CA Sightseeing
Northern California starts at the border between Monterey and San Luis Obispo Counties less than three hours south of San Francisco, runs up through the Bay Area and Sacramento at the latitudinal mid-point of the State, and ends at the Oregon border 6.5 hours north in Del Norte County. (See Bay Area Sightseeing for activities…
Thriller Romance Novels
Contemporary Thriller / Mystery Jayne Ann Krentz See the Castle Krentz Quick post for reviews of books by Jayne Ann Krentz under her married name (Jayne Ann Krentz), her given (maiden) name Jayne Castle, and and her pen name Amanda Quick. Her Krentz novels are in the murder mystery / thriller / romance genres with…
Paranormal Romance Novels
(Also see the Adult Paranormal Fiction post.) Contemporary Paranormal Lynsay Sands Argeneau series Entertaining and sexy ‘immortals’ (in the vampire) mode long for their life-mates – a life-mate being the one person whose mind you cannot read… unless you’re in the throes of sexual passion – but then have to overcome a life-threatening obstacle or…
Contemporary Romance Novels
Elsa Watson Dog Days by Elsa Watson offers a lightly amusing take on the ‘Freaky Friday’ premise – but with a woman and a stray dog swapping places. I was willing to suspend belief for the story, but found myself getting impatient with the characters and their dialog so I skipped chunks to get to…
Historical Romance Novels
‘Historical Romance Novels’ are set in bygone eras other than ‘Regency’. Thirteenth Century Maya Banks (Note: ‘Neamh Alainn’ is ficitional.) Never Seduce a Scot by Maya Banks is both entertaining and eye roll inducing – likable characters once you get past the (supposedly) thirteenth century Scottish Highlander gender-appropriate behavior. I liked the story a lot…
Bay Area Chocolate
A compendium of places to buy, eat, and learn about chocolate and chocolate production in the Bay Area. Also see Bay Area Food, Bay Area Restaurants, and Bay Area Sightseeing posts. Feb 2024 KQED Bay Curious podcast on SF’s chocolate history. The featured chocolatiers are Socola and Formosa Chocolates. 2014/03/04: Per tablehopper, “Noted San Francisco…
Bay Area Food
A compendium of places to buy, eat, and learn about food and food production in the Bay Area. Also see Bay Area Chocolate, Bay Area Restaurants, and Bay Area Sightseeing posts. Alameda / Oakland / Berkeley / Greater Alameda County Alameda County Foodie Tour Alameda Natural Grocery (organic food and healthcare), 1650 Park St, Alameda,…